Hi everyone! Long time member and lurker, not much for me to add as I am not a revolver guy - but that is now changing.

A bit of my background:

I am mostly interested in military arms and newer evil black rifles as well as modern handguns. I shoot a bit, probably about 5,000 rounds of various calibers over the summer. Historically speaking, I always shot revolvers rather poorly - to the point that I never really got into them. Before I bought the Governor I did have (and still have) a few - a S&W M1917, a 6.5" 29-2, a 4" 28-2, a snubby 60, a Colt Trooper MkIII, and so forth. When I actually tally up what I own it seems that I have more than just a few....

On to the review!

At SHOT when Smith introduced the Governor I was, at first, wondering why Smith would copy Taurus. Then I realized that I did want a combo revolver for my backwoods treks but never bought one because it was made by Taurus. The lightbulb went on! I patiently waited for our buyer to return from SHOT. He gave a favorable review and the Governor was on my list.
I took the first one to reach us and was, well, as giddy as a schoolboy. The DA and SA were typical production Smith - no worries. I have read that some guys are comparing the DA pull to the M1895 Nagant revolver - well, they must have bum guns as my Gov and the subsequent 2 we received this week have typical pulls.
I had already purchased a holster and various types of ammo so off to the range I went. I brought with me:

American Eagle 225gr .45 Colt
CCI Blazer 230 gr. .45 ACP
Winchester PDX 410
Remington Home Defense 00 Buck 410
Remington 410 Rifled Slug
Remington 7.5 Shot 410
Federal Personal Protection 000 Buck 410

All shooting was done with a one hand hold, offhand. Keep in in mind that the close-up pictures of the ShootNC targets have .45 caliber holes in them and are maybe 5" in diameter.



The Remington rifled slugs (I stupidly wasted all 5 I had at 25 yards) performed piss poor. I will buy more to see if it was the ammo or me being to amped up to shoot straight. Right now I would not even entertain the thought of using rifled slugs at any distance over conversational. If hitting as close to the 8" gong without touching it was the object of the shooting, it would be king.

All buckshot rounds at 25 yards were far too varied in point of impact and shot dispersion to use to any sort of effectiveness. Again, I would not use buck at anything over conversational distance. Of note, the PDX-1 is truly not suited for distance encounters - the 12 pellets of the load disperse so far that I was never able to account for all of them. This means that collateral damage is very easy and the shot pattern is so large only a miracle hit would do anything.

Do I need to say anything about 7.5 shot at 25?

The .45 Colt load from AE surprised me (AE45LC), it is rated to 860fps, as it kicked as much as the 410 buck loads whereas the .45 ACP from CCI, rated at 845fps, kicked far much less. Not a bit less, a very noticeably less. At 25 yards hits on a 8" gong were simple. The .45 ACP loads shot a bit high.

On to the 7 yards test:



The PDX load was, up to this point, my best hope. It was OK at best. The biggest issue is the pellet dispersion - they are only a liability, even at 7 yards. Accuracy was great for a buckshot/disk load. I would only use this at very close range for self defense. I can see no other use for it if other choices are available.



The Federal 000 buck equalled the PDX rounds without the pellet issue. This has become my choice for a buckshot load for the Governor.



The Remington Home Defense was a surprise. At 7 yards it shot about 6 inches high. Not only that, but the patterns sucked. Not useful to me for much if there is no pattern consistency and I must remember to hold 6 inches low to hit POA. The picture shows one pellet hit and the other mark is from the wad.



.45 Colt and .45 ACP - both were equally as accurate but the .45 ACP did shot a bit high. The .45 Colt was a POA/POI hold whereas the .45 ACP was POA=2"low/POI (think bullseye sight picture). I was obviously pulling to the left with the .45 Colt for the first three rounds.




The 7.5 shot was very effective from about 10 yards and in. Over 10 yards and the pattern opened way up and would not be very effective on small game. By 15 yards a Coke can was deflecting some pellets.

Overall I am very happy with the Governor. The only thing I will be changing is the grip. I found it to be a bit on the small size for shooting as it was twisting a bit with the buck and .45 Colt loads. The down size to this is that the stock grip is great for carry.

Now, on the the "I didn't see it until I got home" issue. The extractor star was missing a leg. I will send the gun to Smith at the end of the summer for this to be replaced as it does not affect functionality at all.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my half-assed review. I do know that there are those who dislike the Governor and that is OK. That is why they make chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream!

In addition to the three loads (.45 C, ACP and 410), this will shoot the .45 Schofield and the .45 GAP. I have not tried them yet so do so at your own risk. Sadly, .45 Auto Rim will not work. I am tempted to see how it will handle .45 Super, but I may call Smith for input on that one.


Semper Fi,

Mike

Great review, coogan and thanks for posting. At what distance would the 00 buck & 000 buck be most effective in a defensive situation?

ps. Welcome to the forum.

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Inconsistently consistent

rock doc, thanks. To be honest the only buck load I would consider right now for self defense would be the Federal Premium. Max range? Probably no more than 10 yards.

Well, firstly, I won't welcome you here, as you have been registered since '03! I will congratulate you for finally having figured out what that 'Post Reply' button was for - now just use it more often. Good grief, two of your total of six responses have been here - so far!

As to DA pull - I am accustomed to lighter triggers, whether by me or the PC Shop. The Governor is 'stout' by comparison. It is easily shot in DA - even by my wife - no changes anticipated there (It is clearly not a target revolver!). Besides, you don't know how lite my tweaked 1895 Nagant triggers are, anyway! Some times, I have been known to inject humor into my ramblings...

As to shooting distances... This thing, like the Judge, is designed for 7yd absolute maximum - more likely, 2-5 yd. It is for defending your person. I really think that 7 yd on out is more akin to bushwhacking than defending one's person. At 5-7 yd, I found all of the holes but one of 36 BB's from the latest three Win PDX rounds into a pristine bg silhouette target - and twelve big holes (Yep, the wadding, too!). For a house gun, that is what mine sports - some times.

We use odd rationales for our purchases. My latest, perhaps favorite for the Governor, is that I wanted a 325NG. What I got weighs <2 oz more, has a .25" more barrel, the same Al/Sc frame & SS cylinder (Okay - a bit longer!), and even a Tritium Night Sight. Did I mention it cost hundreds less?

I may as well have claimed it was to be my new SPC gun - no misses yet, with cowboy lead loads in .45 Colt or ball ammo in .45 ACP's. Whatever my rationale, the gun is fun... and it's purchase satiated my 'Taurus-envy' in a less embarrassing fashion! Thanks for the review.

Stainz

Great review! I have been waiting to see the governor appear in my area. No one has one. I have the Taurus, but it will surely disappear when I get the Smith. Thanks again for the review.

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J. Mark McCarver

Yep, I sure am a lurker, eh?

I appreciate the comments and agree with you 110%.

After shooting the Governor and finding that I actually CAN shoot a revolver with some degree of accuracy I foresee a Night Guard in the future as well as a PC snub, either the 627 (170133) or the 327 (170245).

Oh, the one thing that was kind of a bummer for me (since I bought this as a woods gun) was the lack of the typical Sc frame lanyard loop. Easy fix with the Hogue grip and the lanyard replacement screw.

All the .410 revolver owners should read this:

The Box O' Truth #53 - The Taurus Judge, Revisited - Page 1

Yep, that is a very nice write up. I had read that prior to my outing with the Governor so I had no real surprises.

Coogan, that's one fine review - thank you very much for taking the time to take the pix, upload them, write the whole thing up, and share it with us.

I had a Taurus 4410 for a while, much the same results as your review. I did find, that for all it's short comings and lack of design "focus", it was a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. We had a ball shooting hand thrown clay pigeons with birdshot. Of course, the fun only lasted as long as the ammo and .410 is stupidly expensive for what you're getting. The gun ended up being traded away for something that I can't remember.

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

My question is directed to Coogan and Stainz, although anyone who has a Governor (or Judge for that matter) feel free to chime in as well.

I'm trying to decide how to use and then load my Governor. For home defense, my primary HD gun is a M&P 45. I am thinking about carrying the Governor in the car...not on me as a CCW, but in the car when we are traveling, etc. For that use, I was thinking about 6 rounds of buckshot...I figure that any encounters will be close (in terms of distance) and there will be less worry about missing and/or collateral damage than if I load it with .45 LC. I don't plan on engaging in any long range gun battles, or target matches...I just want to keep someone out of the car, so I am talking about very close range.

I also think about using the Governor as a secondary HD gun. I keep the M&P 45 in my night stand. (The rest of my guns are in the safe, unloaded.) Our bedroom is on one end of the house, and my study/home office is on the other end...so I'm thinking about keeping it in my desk. In this case, I think I'll load the first two cylinders with buckshot, and the the remaining 4 with .45 LC. [We don't have children at home.]

How do you plan to use your Governor, and how do you load it for that use?

Thanks for the objective review.
One difference from the Judges I've seen stands out to me, and that is your hitting the 25yd target with .45 ball ammo in the Governor. From the Judge shooters I've watched try 25yd shots, it was no better than 50/50 in hitting an IDPA target with anything. Maybe S&W did better on the rifling?

I've been called dirty names for observing that beyond 7yd the shotgun loads in a Judge were equally likely to hit the target next to the one aimed at, so in the future I'll just refer them to your post.

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Science plus Art

For up close and personal distances the buckshot load is king. IMHO, the .45 Colt/.45 ACP will always be the best terminal performers but the buck, at close range, will make more holes in the target. I would have no reservations about using only buck for such situations. For HD starting with one or two buck loads followed by .45 Colt would be pretty decent.

Again, my use of the Governor is for woods carry. I have yet to ever encounter a situation where I needed a gun of any sort for putting down a critter. I hope it stays that way until I am in the ground. Snakes are my biggest concern as there are a few rattlers in the area - after that maybe a rabid opossum or the like followed by the two legged types. However, based on the critters I do see that could be an issue I have decided on the following rotation: 7.5 shot, 7.5 shot, buck, .45 Colt x3. The speedloader carries .45 Colt. Since this is a woods carry piece for me, I do not see encountering a situation where unloading the gun into whatever is coming at me will result in collateral damage.


BTW, thanks to all for the compliments!

I have to admit, when it is loaded with the buckshot shells, the view from the front (in the mirror, NOT pointed at me) looks so awesome...the first shot showing in each cylinder just looks intimidating. When you load it with .45s, you can't even see them! The cylinder really swallows them...it looks like it isn't loaded.

Not saying that looks trump performance...I wouldn't want to look down the barrel of that gun no matter what it was loaded with.

Thanks for the review..... I have been lookinf for something like this.
considering getting one for myself.

Great review!!. I carry my Guv with a load of Federal 000 Buck for those up close and personal moments. I also carry two reloads on Moonclips of Winchester Ranger 230gr T-Series. Hope I Never have to use it BUT you never know untill it happens!. Always Carry,Never Tell!.

Hi all, new member and owner of a Gov.

Last time at the range, I tried a rifled slug out of it.

I think it was a little too hot for it. It locked it up sorta.

Taking a closer look, I could see the primer had 'bumped' out a bit and was lodging things up. I gently worked the action open and was up running again with no harm done. I put the rest of the 4 back in the bag.

These were Federal Power Shock, box says 1/4 oz @ 1775 FPS

Too much or just a bad apple ?

When I first heard of the Taurus Judge the first thought that came to mind was "Why?" I recognize that "because I like it" is a sufficient answer to those that own them and the Smith version...I've used it many times regarding other gun purchases. However, I fail to see any real practical advantage of a .45 revolver that shoots .410 shells. Why not just get a standard .45 revolver? "A shotgun shell with buckshot" SOUNDS imposing, and is if it's a 12 or 20 guage, but I don't see any defensive advantage of the tiny .410 buck load over a standard .45, .44, or .38. revolver round.. Less accuracy, less penetration, more expensive. With birdshot it might be useful for shooting snakes up close, but not significantly better for that task than a pistol shot load. All this in a package that is rather ungainly and odd-looking. Am I missing something, or are these ".410 revolvers" just another fairly successful marketing gimmick?

I have mine about 3 months and only shot it twice.
This summer I should be able to brake it in.

Your report was/is outstanding!

@halco46 and others: what do you carry your Governor in?

I carry my Guv in either a Blackhawk #2 IWB {Very Comfy} or a Simply Rugged Pancake. Both are great with an untucked shirt on hot days. And..both do not print. Hope this helps!!.

Coogan,

Great review!! Thanks for taking the time to post all the pictures (I'm a picture guy)..... you did a fine job and should participate more often!

"Do I need to say anything about 7.5 shot at 25?
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The 7.5 shot was very effective from about 10 yards and in. Over 10 yards and the pattern opened way up and would not be very effective on small game. By 15 yards a Coke can was deflecting some pellets."


Actually this is my greatest interest. No buckshot, etc...you've got ACP or Colt! However, if this throws a decent pattern of bird shot out to 10 yards/30 feet I could really use that shooting rats when I'm bushhogging.

Do you have any pics of patterns out to 10 yards or so with the light shot?

Thanks for the review!

JCM

Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait on an update. Here we go:

I never sent the Governor back in for the extractor replacement. I may in the future, but it has not been an issue in the functionality of the gun.

I will get some 7.5 shot pics at 10 yards during my next outing.

I have verified that .45 GAP works 100% in the Gov...no real surprise there as others have already done it. POI was the same as the .45 Colt, while I expected it to match the ACP. I have not ventured into the .45 Super realm yet.

I kept the stock grips, everything else I tried seemed to change the balance of the Gov to my dislike, of course YMMV.

I really do not know what else to say, but I truly enjoy the Governor for what it is.

Excellent review and updated comments, Coogan, thanks!